Gate leg table with drop leaf



Jan. 3,' 1956 v R. w. HUMPHREY 2,729,526

` GATE LEG TABLE WITH DROP LEAF Filed July 22, 1950 .'.Snventor /offer W HUM/Herv ttorneg United States Patent O 2,729,526 GATE LEG TABLE WITH DRoP LEAF Robert W. Humphrey, Culver City, Calif., assignor to Virtue Bros. Mfg. Co., Los Angeles, Calif., a corporation of California Application July 22, 1950, Serial No. 175,398

2 Claims. (Cl. 311-63) This invention relates to a drop leaf gate leg table construction and has for an object to provide novel means that has the dual purpose of supporting the table top and mounting the swingable legs that support the drop leaves when extended.

Another object of the invention is to provide such means that includes an element that is inexpensively formed of a single length of metal tubing.

The invention also has for its objects to provide such means that are positive in operation, convenient in use, easily installed in a working position and easily disconinected therefrom, relatively simple, and of general superiority and serviceability.

The invention also comprises novel details of construction and novel combinations and arrangements of parts, which will more fully appear in the course of the following description. However, the drawing merely shows and the following description merely describes one embodiment of the present invention, which is given by way of illustration or example only.

In the drawing, like reference characters designate similar parts in the several views.

Fig. l is a top plan view of a gate leg table embodying a preferred form of the present invention, one leaf being shown extended and the other folded down or dropped.

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the table as arranged inFg. 1.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary vertical sectional View as taken on line 33 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional detail View as taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

The gate leg table that is illustrated comprises, generally, a top S, a central support member 6 for said drop leaf top, and two sets of gate legs 7 hingedly connected to member 6 and movable between retracted and extended position and supporting the drop leaves of said top in the latter position.

The table top comprises a rectangular middle top part 8 and two similar drop leaves 9 connected to said top part 8 by hinges 10 along the opposite side edges of said top part. According to the present invention, an attachment plate 11 is secured to the under face of top part 8 centrally of the width thereof. Said plate 11 is advantageously made of plywood or the like. In structures in which the top part 8 is of suflicient thickness, plate 11 may be omitted, if desired. t

The central support member 6 is in the nature of a flat transverse frame that depends from top part 8 or attachment plate 11, as the case may be. In the present case, member 6 is formed of a single length of thin-walled metal tubing which is bent in such manner that the member has the appearance of an O when seen from the side, a T when seen fromthe end, and an N when seen from the top. As at present conceived, the tubing, when bent to form, has a lower middle and horizontal straight portion 12 at the opposite ends of which are upwardly directed curved bends `13 from wh1ch upwardly extend parallel uprights 14. The portion 12 and uprights 14 are generally coplanar.

2,729,526 Patented Jan.v 3, 1956 ICC From the upper ends of said uprights extend upwardly curved bends 15 which are oppositely angularly directed and terminate in substantialy parallel and horizontal attachment and support ends 16. ln practice, ends 16, as viewed in plan, are each directed atan angle of approximately'45" from the plane in which portion 12 and uprightsll reside. Thus, the upper end of member 6 is open and it will be seen that the extremities of ends 16 are widely spaced to give proper support to top part 8. Means, such as screws 17, are employed to fasten ends 16 to plate 11 or top` part 8, as the case may be, thereby providing said top part with a rigid support member that is light and inexpensive.

Each leg 18 of the two pairs of legs provided comprises a length of tubing similar to the tubing employed to form support member 6. Each leg is formed to have an upright intermediate straight portion i9 from which, at the lower end, extends an outwardly curved foot portion 2li and from which at the upper end extends a horizontal leaf-supporting portion 21 that is bent in a direction to be parallel to foot portion 18.

As stated, the legs are arranged in two pairs and each pair is hingedly connected to the opopsite uprights 14 of member 6 by hinges 22 that connect said uprights to the respective leg portions 19. lt will be clear, particularly from Figs. l and 4, that the hinges 22 are so positioned that the parts 2li and 21 of the legs may be swung between a position parallel to and within the opposite side edges 23 of top part 8 and a position angularly outward beyond said side edges 23. As shown by the right side cf Figs. l and 2, the feet 2i) of the legs of each pair of legs 7 are oppositely directed and the four legs provide a wide rectangular base for the table (when the leaves thereof are dropped) which resides within the marginal edges of the top part 3. As shown by the left side of said igures, the base formed by leg feet Ztl (when said legs are outwardly swung to support leaves 9) is materially enlarged since the feet of the opposite pairs of legs are considerably wider spread.

Each drop leaf 9, on its under face, is provided with a pair of catches 2d that are designed and positioned to limit the outward swinging movement of the legs by achieving snap-latch engagement with leg portions 21. ln the present instance, said catches are disposed to limit the outward or extended swing of the legs to approximately 45 from their retracted position. The retracted position of the legs is limited by blocks 25 that are fastened to plate 11 in a position to be abutted by leg portions 2l.

Apart from the table top, which is generally conventional for drop leaf tables and may be variously made, the table base, formed by member 6 and pairs of legs 7, constitute a simple and novel assembly of five lengths of tubing that are formed as above described and hinged to* gether to provide an eicient and sturdy table base that imparts stability to the table Whether closed or opened.

While the invention that has been illustrated and described is now regarded as thepreferred embodiment, the construction is, of course, subject to modification without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is therefore not desired to restrict the invention to the pan ticular form of construction illustrated and described, but to cover all modifications that may fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A support frame for interconnecting the fixed part of the drop leaf top and the swingable legs of a gate leg table, said frame comprising a single length of tubing formed to have a lower transverse portion, a vertically upright portion at each end of said transverse portion, the swingable legs being adapted to be connected to said npright portion, said transverse and upright portions being coplanar, and a Vhorizontal and angularly directed end portion at the upper end of each upright portion, said angularly directed end portions extending oppositely to each other and adapted to be connected to a middle portion of said fixed part of the top of the table.

2. A support frame according to claim 1: the angles of said angularly directed end portion to the plane of the transverse and upright portions being equal and said end portions thereby being parallel.

References Cited inthe le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 553,721 Piaget Jan. 2s, 1896 4 Brenner Sept. 1, 1908 Sellner Apr. 9, 1918 Bilton Nov. 18, 1924 Brown Mar. 20, 1934 Ross Mar. 1, 1938 Dillon Apr. 11, 1939 Giberson Aug. 12, 1947 Croteau Sept. V13, 1949 Giberson Jan. 9, 19,51 Brown Dec. 11, 1951 Kohen Feb. 5, 1952 

